BANAUE RICE TERRACES
Every nature lover and adventure seeker must include this site on their travel go-to destination. Banaue Rice Terraces, occasionally known as the eighth wonder of the world, is found here in Barangay Batad, Banaue, Ifugao, Philippines. These terraces are carved out of the mountains of Ifugao and are known to be the main agricultural resource of the region. The beauty of nature built through the hard work of our fellow Filipinos have shown and shined through the splendor of this landscape. This breathtaking work was said to be created for about 2,000 years ago by Ifugao people. These step-like terraces were made long ago with bare hands and the ifugao people who are known to be rice cultivators and their tribe has lived up to this day. These historic landscape is said to be pure and remains to be untouched by colonial cultures. This is said to be the reason why Ifugao people remains to practice their belief, culture, customs, and traditions up to this modern day. To carefully carve the contours and construct these terraces, they had to use stone or mud walls made by hand. This practice was passed on fro one generation to anotherbut according to past records, there are no written reports on how the structure was actually built.
But due to various reasons, the overall structure of the Banaue Rice Terraces has been on a constant decline which leaves it to be a major concern of our country. The impact would be huge considering that this is also a tourism spot here in the Philippines and the impact on the economy rate would be noticeable.The hard work of our ancestors would go to waste if do not take action now. The main reason for the damage of these terraces is the ever-changing weather patterns here in the Philippines. Extreme drought followed by heavy rains or vise versa leads to the instability of the soil sustaining the terraces. As a result, soil erosion occurs.
We must aid this problem now, or regret it later. As an agricultural resource and a tourist destination, Banaue Rice Terraces have given us more than what we give to it. We can further improve and better this landscape more than what it was before and maintain the authenticity of the communities found within it. We can, and we must preserve this and the cultures residing in it as it is, undoubtedly, a true gem here in the Philippines.
